


the sweeter the sun

by Sablehaven



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Cisco Ramon, Baking, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Leonard Snart Lives, M/M, Rating May Change, Rip Hunter Needs a Hug, Rip Hunter-centric, Rip gets so many hugs, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, baby rats, eventual Rip Hunter/Miranda Coburn/Leonard Snart, eventual polyamory, low-key Rip Hunter/Gideon/Miranda Coburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27756121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sablehaven/pseuds/Sablehaven
Summary: Rip's family is saved. So now what? He had already given up on saving them, and never expected to survive long enough for a 'now what?'.So, this is how Rip Hunter got his family back, remembered to plan for having a future, opened a bakery and got the happily ever after that he deserves.Now with baby rats, polyamory and a lot of baking.
Relationships: Miranda Coburn/Rip Hunter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	1. Cisco Ramon is a BAMF

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically just domestic fluff, baking and Rip finally getting to be happy, because goddamn it Rip deserves to be happy!

The Spear was destroyed and the last of the ‘Legion Of Doom’ returned to their proper times with memories erased, and Rip was tired. Which was nothing new, he just hoped that maybe this time he would be able to escape before the next universe ending threat arrived.

“Captain Hunter?” Gideon asked as her projection appeared, concern hidden in her cheerful voice, and Rip swore viciously. Mick laughed at him and the other Legends looked either concerned or ready to start swearing themselves, exhaustion in every slumped shoulder.

“Apologies, Gideon. What is it?” he sighed.

Her projection flickered and Rip frowned. “It appears that the destruction of the Spear has triggered a hidden subroutine. I seem to have a message for you.”

Without further ado, Gideon’s holo changed to a projector screen from which Cisco Ramon watched him with a small smile.

“Hello Captain Hunter.”

At a glance, Cisco looked maybe ten years older than he did in 2016, his hair even longer and pulled into a half ponytail, his goggles replaced by their more subtle, public version.

“As I’m sure you’ve put together, I programmed Gideon to only show you this message after the Spear was destroyed. I suspect you’re also feeling the beginnings of a migraine now, Gideon? Could you please add a dose of the antidote I gave you to some tea?”

On screen, Cisco paused and Rip’s head began to ache. The Legends had all gathered around the screen and he heard the fabricator in the kitchen kick on and the kettle beginning to boil. Cisco’s smile twitched on cue. “Thank you Gideon. Go make some tea, you are going to need it.”

Sighing heavily, Rip stood and walked to the kitchen. Despite his impatience with Vibe’s inability to just get on with things, the ritual of making tea at least soothed him. Drinking a mysterious antidote, slightly less so. He trusted Vibe though, so he took a sip of the tea once it had brewed and went back to the screen where Vibe was waiting patiently.

As soon as he was in front of the screen again, Cisco nodded. “Good. Don’t forget to keep drinking that. You need to have finished it by-” Cisco tilted his head and considered, “one minute in.”

“What the fuck…” Mick muttered and Cisco laughed in the recording.

“This is normal for Vibe,” Rip told him distractedly. “His predictive ability is… very impressive.”

“Thank you Rip, but unto business. The antidote will have kicked in enough that you will likely be wondering why you never came to me for help. Simple answer; you did. And I agreed. Keep drinking.”

Rip obeyed as his heart began to race, but his brain wouldn’t let him complete any thoughts.

“Unfortunately, certain things still needed to happen or the damage to the world would have been… well. You know at least half of what the Legends have prevented. I needed you to create the Legends, I needed Leonard Snart to destroy the Oculus, and Sara Lance to destroy the Spear of Destiny. I am sorry for the amount of pain that required from you Rip.”

Cisco sighed, his eyes downcast behind his glasses. “Sit down. And finish the tea.”

Feeling rather like a puppet, Rip continued to obey, aware that his hands were shaking and his knees were about to give out. There was a reason he trusted Cisco Ramon with his life. Besides the stories Rip had been told as a Time Master, his brief assignment with Cisco had instilled him with an embarrassing level of awe for the man.

As soon as the cup was empty, Cisco continued. “You’ll be able to start remembering everything now, so I can begin explaining without putting you in the medbay. Every time you have watched your family die, every time Savage has believed he killed them, it has been an illusion, Zatanna’s work. I am truly sorry for the pain I’ve had to let you go through, but your family is alive and well Rip.”

As the cup fell from his hand, Cisco winced. “Sorry, should have told you to put that down. Anyways. Gideon should already be inputting the coordinates and time for my place, where your family and an old friend are waiting for you. See you soon Captain Hunter.”

The screen shut down and Gideon’s projection reappeared. “The coordinates have been set for Central City, April, 2028, Captain Hunter.”

He couldn’t make his legs work and after a second a heavy hand fell on one shoulder, and a much gentler one landed on the other. “Rip? Do you want me to fly?” Distantly Rip realized he was having a panic attack and in no position to walk, let alone pilot and he managed a jerky nod in between desperate breaths.

As Cisco had suggested might happen, memories were beginning to leak in.

  
_“How did the council meeting go, Captain Hunter?” Gideon asked briskly and Rip didn’t take any time to let the disappointment and hurt into his voice._

_“Exactly as expected Gideon.”_

_“So we are proceeding?”_

_“Indeed. Prepare the Waverider for takeoff. Set a course. United States. Central City. October. 2027.” He took a seat at the helm and took a deep breath, ignoring his nerves._

_“Are you quite certain about this Captain? You know how important Mr. Ramon is to the timeline.”_

_“I’m sure, Gideon.”_

  
So he had arrived at Cisco Ramon’s home and he’d made his case and pleaded for assistance from one of the most powerful and important superheroes in all of history.

Mick’s hand on his shoulder moved to his arm and Rip numbly let the man haul him up and push him into a bridge chair. Mick even pushed the safety bar down for him before moving away. Rip would have forgotten.

  
_“There are things that need to happen Rip, but I will help you and your family will be safe I promise.”_

_A man stepped into the room with a tray and a wry smile. His eyes glowed brilliant blue and as Rip watched he could see cracks in the man’s skin glowing the same color. The color of the time stream, he had failed to realize._

  
The _Waverider_ entered the temporal zone and yanked Rip back into the present for a moment. Even now it was hard to make the connection between everything the Legends had done and the things that had been discussed in that warm, cozy living room covered in Halloween decorations.

He could remember now, Cisco’s gentle voice explaining the future and the horrible things that would happen if he didn’t create this team and stop them. Explaining the not-death of Leonard Snart and how necessary that was, not just for saving his family but for the future of the world. The Oculus needed to be destroyed.

He had spent days with them, planning and preparing.

The memory of holding Jonas in his arms after pulling them from the battlefield hit him. His son was alive. Jonas was alive. Miranda had kissed him goodbye before his memory was erased. They were alive.

“We’re here.” Sara glanced anxiously at him as they left the temporal zone and the _Waveride_ r was landed. Rip stumbled from his seat and reached the door before they were on the ground.

Gideon dropped the ramp as soon as it was safe though, and Rip fell to his knees when he saw them waiting.

Miranda grinned at him with wet eyes while Jonas left her side to run up the ramp, and all Rip could do was hold open his arms and hold tight as Jonas slammed into him.

He couldn’t pinpoint when he started sobbing, but it didn’t matter because Miranda had reached him and was sinking to her knees, wrapping her strong arms around them both. They were alive.


	2. Rip really needed this nap

They were left in silence for a long time while the team quietly waited on the bridge until his sobs faded. Rip trembled in Miranda’s arms, clinging to Jonas and unable to get enough breath to speak.

“It’s okay dear, it's all right now. We’re alive. It’s over now.”

It was over.

The fight, the struggle, the despair. It was all over.

“It’s gonna be okay, dad,” Jonas whispered before tucking himself securely against his shoulder and Rip was so grateful for the son they had raised.

Shakily, Rip arranged his arms to carry Jonas and stood. Beyond Miranda, Cisco and Len stood in the doorway of the house. He cleared his throat and glanced back to the team. “Come on, there is still a lot to be explained.”

He could remember it all though, and the reality was slowly sinking in. He’d spent weeks in this beautiful house with them, enjoying the safety and warmth. He’d left them here, waving goodbye before his memory was erased, before his mission began.

The Legends followed him down the ramp tentatively, none of them quite sure what was going on but he heard the gasps when they recognized Len standing there.

The glow was mostly gone from his eyes now, and the glowing cracks had healed, there were hardly any signs left of what he’d been through.

“Leonard!” Mick’s rough voice sounded strangled and Rip watched Len smile.

“Hey Mick, surprise. Not dead.”

He even managed to make the sarcasm sound soft, which Rip remembered fondly.

“Why don’t you all come inside, we have some catching up to do,” Cisco suggested, waving them all in.

It felt a bit like coming home, stepping across that threshold again. It was exactly as he remembered, minus a few hundred Halloween decorations and plus a few dozen flower vases. Cisco was ruled by seasonal decorating apparently, and Rip’s heart ached with fondness and gratitude that this is where Jonas and Miranda had spent the past five months.

He was oddly sad that he’d missed the winter decor though.

“Okay, where shall we start?” Miranda directed him onto the couch and sat down with an arm over his shoulders and Rip shivered, leaning into her. Miranda was not a slight woman, she had the musculature of a boxer and he had missed her strength in all its forms.

She squeezed his shoulder tight enough to hurt and went on as soon as everyone was seated. Cisco always sat in the right arm chair by the fire and Len took the left side wordlessly, but his eyes stayed on Mick.

“Okay. I think you know most of this already from Cisco’s message. Things needed to happen as if Jonas and I were dead, and Len needed his time stream granted powers in order to save Jonas and I. Do you have any questions?”

There was an immediate rush of cross talk, and Rip strangely felt no urge to do anything about any of it, he simply wrapped his arms around Jonas and snuggled deeper into Miranda’s side. She would take care of things.

Mick’s voice stood out among the rest, and Rip listened absently. “Yeah we do, how the fuck is Leonard alive? And why didn’t we learn about it sooner!”

He turned into Miranda’s shoulder to block out some of the light while Cisco answered.

“Simple enough. I started having vibes about him a year ago and Barry and I were able to pull him out. We didn’t tell you because he has been healing, and once more events needed to proceed as if he were dead. As for how he is alive, he’s best suited to answer that.”

Len took a deep breath, and Rip turned to watch him. He’d heard the explanation before and he knew how hard it was for Len to piece together.

“The time stream is… alive. In its own way at least. When I destroyed the Oculus I was torn apart and… transformed. I was scattered throughout the time stream and for whatever reason, it took an interest in me. Pretty high compliment, something like that bothering to pull together a more cohesive form just so it could put me back together and communicate. Not great at communicating, but it tries. It managed to fix me, for the most part. But what it couldn’t find, it replaced with parts of itself,”

Len snorted. “Should have seen me when Cisco first pulled me out, I looked like a bioluminescent Frankenstein monster. All stitched together with glowing blue. Fucked me up pretty badly, not gonna lie. Cisco helped me learn to stay in one time and stop drifting. I can time travel on my own though, and it's easier for me to change things. That’s how we got Miranda and Jonas away from Savage.”

Len looked warily over at them when he finished and Rip simply turned back into Miranda’s shoulder. He trusted his team to behave about this.

“Jesus fuck…” Sara whispered, and that was that. There were no more questions or explanations. Len stood up and Mick followed him, the smell of Len’s hot chocolate started drifting from the kitchen but Rip was asleep long before it was finished.

~

He came to slow consciousness at some point during the night, finding himself in a bed with Jonas still in his arms and Miranda stroking his hair. She smiled when he blinked blearily at her. “Hello dear, feeling better?” She kissed his forehead, and Rip smiled tiredly.

“Yes darling. How have you been these months?”

Miranda narrowed her eyes at him, “Jonas and I have been fine. We’ve missed you terribly, but it has been all baking and endless hot chocolate, and Cisco’s rampant month long holiday moods. You on the other hand, have stopped a frankly ridiculous number of disasters while fully believing we were dead. I talked to your adorable little team, Rip, and I know you. Please don’t pretend you’re okay when it will just lead to you falling apart later.”

Rip blinked slowly, trying several times to answer before finally Rip sighed. “I’ll probably have a few panic attacks later, no avoiding that. I’m just tired, and scared that you’ll both disappear every time I blink.”

She looked sad and resumed petting his hair. “Time will fix that, I promise. Just don’t pretend with me, okay?”

Rip smiled tiredly, “I’ll try, and we have all the time in the world now.”


	3. talking is important

When Rip woke up the second time it was to background chatter and the smell of breakfast. Jonas wasn’t there anymore but Miranda spoke before he could panic, 

“good morning, love, Jonas is just in the kitchen. You slept in,”

Miranda was standing in the doorway with a cup of tea and a gentle smile. Rip immediately relaxed, smiling at her. He was still tired, which was strange since the clock revealed it was past noon. Perhaps his time in the shrunken Waverider had involved more sleep deprivation than he’d previously thought.

“Later today, perhaps we will go into more detail about how I’ve spent the past year. Thank you, Miranda.” He accepted the tea and sighed with relief at the first sip.

“Yes, we will. But for now we should join the others for breakfast and talk about the future.”

Rip nodded, swallowing weakly. The future. Something he hadn’t let himself think about in three years. It had always felt like he didn’t have one. He’d fully expected to just keep saving the world until he finally managed to die.

He looked up and took in every line and freckle on Miranda’s face, the way her messy hair fell, her crooked smile and gold hazel eyes. She was here, physical and real and alive.

“Going to be okay?” she asked softly and Rip nodded.

  
When he made it into the kitchen, the entire team was there. Len was sitting on the counter with Mick and Sara sitting near him, like cats showing their affection by being within arms reach.

Jax, Ray and Martin were talking to Cisco, or possibly interrogating him if his amusement was any indication. Jonas sat in the breakfast nook with his drawing pad.

Real. Alive. Jonas looked over and beamed, jumping down from his chair and hurtling across the kitchen where Rip caught him and hauled him up into a hug. “G’morning dad,” he mumbled into Rip’s shoulder, and Rip had to close his eyes so he wouldn’t cry again.

“Good morning, Jonas.” Slowly the whole team’s eyes turned to him, looking as though they expected not to recognize him now that his mission was over. That was fair, he’d almost been surprised when the mirror revealed he looked just as he had every morning in the past two years.

Len caught his eye and smiled dryly. Rip imagined his timeline was deeply confusing, being recruited by him, fighting alongside him then dying, being pulled back and meeting a Rip who didn’t know him yet, and now meeting the Rip who did. Migraines were common in time travelers, and this was why.

Miranda’s hand on his lower back guided Rip into a seat at the breakfast nook, as Jonas clambered into the seat across from him to resume drawing.

“You’ve gotten better,” Rip said softly, peering over at the sketch of the Waverider. Jonas smiled, adjusting the pad so Rip could see it better.

“He has.” Miranda confirmed happily sitting next to him and pushing a plate in front of him. “Eat, you’ve somehow gotten even skinnier.”

Rip scoffed. Gideon had been pointedly informing him of his weight at least once a week for a very long time now. Miranda dug an elbow into his ribs pointedly and glared until he obeyed.

“So… Len, Jonas and I have talked a lot about what we were going to do when you got back.” Her voice softened and she draped an arm over his shoulders, leaning over to watch Jonas fill in the details of the Waverider. “Cisco recommended that we go to 2016, and I agree. It’s not the best year and we might want to take some vacations, but we’d have friends there. Len won’t leave his sister of course, and I think he wants to adopt 2016 Cisco.”

Rip thought about it, having Len right there, and even a younger version of Cisco was a comforting thought. Rip leaned back and tried to imagine life without bouncing around history, trying to save the world.

“Len, come over here.” Rip called over and Sara and Mick both looked confused as Len dropped down and strolled over to them, leaning against the wall. “We were just discussing our plans, and I was wondering… what do you all think of opening a bakery?”

They looked at him, taking a minute to understand what he was suggesting but Jonas perked up immediately. “Does that mean you’d be baking all the time?”

Rip smiled. “It would, every day in fact.”

Jonas grinned. “Sounds like a very good idea to me.”

Miranda laughed, and Len hummed thoughtfully. “A bakery? How very domestic of you.”

“Well Len, I do happen to know someone who makes the best hot chocolate in the world, and what is a bakery without hot chocolate?”

“Oh.” Len’s eyes widened and he hesitated over the extended invitation. Miranda reached over with her spare hand and grabbed Len’s.

“You’d be very silly Len, if you think we’re letting you go. Right, Rip?”

Rip smiled. “Of course. You’ve been part of the family for months and you aren’t escaping now. Len? I really cannot recommend trying to run away, Miranda has an excellent tackle.”

“My form is perfect.” She confirmed cheerfully and Len smiled.

“So, a bakery then? Why not?”

  
~

  
Miranda was surprisingly nervous about going to see Gideon. He could see how much she’d missed her, and he knew that Gideon had missed them too. So he gave Miranda a gentle push and let Jonas go so he could run ahead. Inside, he could hear Gideon’s warm greeting.

“Hello Jonas, it is wonderful to see you again,” 

“Gideon!”

With a last glance back to him, Miranda stepped inside. “Hello Gideon, it’s so good to hear your voice again.”

Rip followed them inside, smiling as he rested against the doorway to watch the reunion. Miranda and Jonas had spent as much time on the Waverider as they could and Gideon adored them. She had mourned them with him, watched that video on repeat with him and been just as desperate to save them, even as it should have been inhibited by her programming.

He’d fixed that a long time ago, under her guidance, combing through her system, carefully editing and deleting programs that restricted her freewill and inhibited her development. That had been deeply illegal, and he’d done it even before leaving the Time Masters.

He watched Jonas chattering at her, explaining their rescue like it was an action movie instead of a bloody and horrifying mess that would have left an older child deeply traumatized. For Jonas, things had been scary and then his dad, a cool glowing man and his favorite superhero had come to save them.

Rip was grateful, he didn’t want Jonas to grow up with any real memories of that war.

Miranda took a seat around the table, watching Jonas’s story with a soft smile, filling in details of their time with Cisco whenever he paused for breath.

Satisfied, Rip turned and went back to the house. It might have been hard to let them out of his sight, but he trusted them with Gideon. Len was waiting for him at the base of the ramp and Rip accepted the arm over his shoulder as Len moved to walk with him.

They kept getting looks from the team, but Miranda and Len had explained everything while he was asleep and he decided they would get over it eventually. Or just live their lives in confusion, which would be more in character for the Legends.

“Should probably explain to them at some point that we’re all going back to 2016 together, shouldn’t we?” Len drawled thoughtfully, voice dripping with distaste at the thought of the conversation, and Rip chuckled.

“We will have to, I still need to explain that I am loaning the _Waverider_ to Sara.” Len groaned, pulling Rip closer to his side.

“They’re just going to be so dramatic about it, Ray will probably cry. We’re going to give him abandonment issues.”

“You’re one to talk about being dramatic.” Rip laughed.

Len just slumped against him as they walked back inside, greeted by the usual startled and bewildered looks by everyone except Cisco who simply grinned at them with three pins held in his teeth and a sewing project in his lap.

In the two months Rip had spent here before leaving for the mission he didn’t think he had ever seen Cisco with idle hands.

“So, we should probably have that talk now.”

Len pulled him to one of the couches and Rip whistled once sharply to call them all to the living room. Once they were all gathered, he took a deep breath.

“As I’m sure you’ve gathered, Miranda and I are planning to settle down to raise Jonas with some semblance of peace.” There were some nods and Jax was grinning, simply happy for him and Rip was so glad to have him.

“And I’m going with them, because whether I like it or not, I seem to be regarded as an uncle by the little Hunter spawn.” Len added.

“What?” Mick and Sara both said together, and once the shock faded they all just looked lost, like the thought that Len might not be joining them had never occurred. Rip hadn’t expected to feel guilty, but he did, like he was stealing Len from them.

“Yes,” Rip began apologetically. “I don’t know the precise details of how everything was explained to you, but-” he took another deep breath and wished for a cup of tea. “Len spent two months with us before I left, and then the five I missed where he helped Miranda take care of Jonas. Len is part of the family, whether he likes it or not.”

“Besides. I still have a sister back in 2016 who has her eye on a degree in jewelry design and that isn’t going to happen without some help.”

At the very least, time traveler technology meant that initial finances were no issue, and helping Lisa with college had been part of the plan since very early on.

“So you’re all just leaving?” Ray asked, soft and sad while staring at them like a puppy that had been tied to the dog house and was watching his family go inside without him. Rip had an eight year old though, so he managed not to flinch.

“I’m afraid so. Gideon will start the process of transferring herself shortly so she can come with us, and I will be lending the _Waverider_ to you. Sara is in charge, so don’t even think of bickering about that. We’ll also be setting you up with a new AI, so you won’t be left high and dry.”

Rip watched Sara and Stein minutely relax, and he smiled. Jax just smiled back, his engineer who knew very well that Rip wouldn’t take the _Waverider_ away from him.


	4. domestic planning and goodbyes

They didn’t leave right away, there were goodbyes to be said, a lot of accumulated clutter to pack, they wanted Cisco to make sure Gideon’s transfer went without a hitch and they still had to find the place.

“We’ll need a lot of space,” Miranda mused, scrolling idly through listings in central city, 2016 as they sat together in the _Waverider_ parlour so Gideon could join in on the planning. “At least five bedrooms I think.” Rip raised an eyebrow, leaning against her side to look at the phone.

“Well, Len and Lisa will need rooms too and we’ll want a guest room,” she explained and Rip smiled, oddly pleased by the thought of a full house.

“Sounds perfect. Somewhere with a large yard of course. A dog might be nice.”

Miranda grinned, “Len! Do you like dogs?” she called towards the hall to the kitchen.

“Mr. Snart would like to say that he doesn’t like drool, or shedding. Which I will point out does leave many options,” Gideon said and on the screen, a variety of dog breed pictures appeared and Rip chuckled.

“Thank you Gideon, cultivate that list please and we’ll narrow it down, then let Jonas pick one when it is time.”

“Ooh, what do you think of this one?” Rip leaned over again and looked over the listing, frowning thoughtfully.

“Do you think the neighbourhood might be a bit pretentious?” he asked, eyeing the shiny white interior with doubt.

“Good point, probably all judgemental rich people with badly trained chihuahuas.”

They were silent for a while longer, Rip watching the listing scroll by less and less as he started to doze off. Staying conscious had proved a challenge with his anxieties no longer holding enough sway to keep him awake.

“What about this one?”

Rip blinked away the blur of sleep at her thoughtful tone and looked at the house and description in front of him. “It says that it’s suspected of being haunted.”

“Yep, apparently some artist with a habit of painting on the walls died there. Natural death, silly thing to dramatise but apparently they tried to paint over it and the paintings bled through all over the place. I think it looks nice, and we could probably strip away the paint to reveal the actual paintings if we wanted.”

As she pulled up a few examples of the work and Rip couldn’t deny there was some appeal to the idea. “What is the neighbourhood like?”

Gideon pulled up the information on the screen and they read through together, “in my personal opinion, it seems like a very pleasant neighbourhood, friendly and many of the residents are quite artistic. The local schools also get very high ratings, and this one in particular-” the information on it appeared “has a very good art class that produces several successful painters.”

It looked perfect and Rip glanced at Miranda. “Gideon, could you ask Len and Jonas to join us please?”

“Of course Captain Hunter.”

Miranda set aside the phone and draped an arm over his shoulder, “it looks perfect, did you see the yard? Plenty of space for a dog, and we could fit a few fruit trees if we wanted, Jonas loved the cherry tree at Cisco’s place and you could use it for baking.”

Len walked in then with Jonas on his hip and glanced at the screen, “Gideon said Miranda is wanting to buy a house haunted by a dead artist?” he asked as he set Jonas between them and draped himself on the couch at Rip’s other side.

“More or less. It’s just some creaking hinges and some paintings bleeding through on the walls.”

“Sounds like the perfect place to raise a child, are there are also strange red stains on the floor and a mysterious door in the basement with a padlock?”

Jonas giggled, staring at the paintings bled through with fascination. “No,” Miranda said thoughtfully, “but there is a creepy cellar.”

“Creepy cellar’s nice, very Cask Of Amontillado.”

Rip cleared his throat before Jonas could ask what the Cask of Amontillado was, “so, can we come to a consensus?” he asked and Len sobered and gave the house a serious look, reading through everything Gideon had put together before he leaned back.

“It looks nice. Any rival bakeries nearby?”

“There are no bakeries in the neighbourhood, and only one cafe with reviews that indicate store bought baked goods and mediocre coffee.”

Rip smiled. “So, Jonas? What do you think?”

Jonas gave the screen his most serious of looks, then nodded firmly. “I like it.”

And that was that. “Okay Gideon, please arrange a walk-through and put together a list of potential spots for the bakery.” He smiled down at Jonas who was already clambering down and running out of the parlour with Len strolling behind. Miranda leaned against him and kissed him when he turned to her.

“It looks perfect, and I’m ready to have a home again.” She whispered against his mouth, then tucked her head against his shoulder.

She wasn’t the only one, Rip loved the _Waverider_ , but if it weren’t for Gideon he would have crumbled under the claustrophobia. There was a reason the parlour and library were so heavily marked by his experiences, it helped ground him.

“Gideon?” He directed the question at the ceiling, quickly sinking back into the half-asleep state that had become his normal since he’d first dozed off on Cisco’s couch.

“Yes, Captain Hunter?”

“You like it right?” He heard a familiar hum from the _Waverider_ engines that he’d come to think of as almost a purr, and smiled.

“I do, Captain Hunter. Very much,” Gideon replied warmly, and Rip fell asleep to the hum of the engines.

  
~

  
The next morning, it was time for goodbyes. Far too many goodbyes, in Rip’s opinion.

The first was Cisco, and no words could even begin to express how grateful he was to the man who had saved his family and cared for them. Still, he’d done his best, and Cisco had smiled warmly and handed over the little drive that now housed Gideon. “Take care of yourself Rip, and I hope to see you all again soon,” he said with a look in his eyes that Rip hoped meant a younger Cisco would be stumbling into the bakery soon after it was opened.

~

Saying goodbye to the team was even harder. Captaincy of the _Waverider_ had been transferred to Sara and her new AI Galatea was familiarising herself with the ship, so at least he could try and believe they were well cared for. He knew he would always worry.

The _Waverider_ was parked at the same rooftop where he had first recruited the Legends and they all stood around, no one sure how to start until Sara sighed. “So, how about we come back in say, two weeks? Touch base, make sure you aren’t getting claustrophobic enough to do something stupid.”

Rip grinned, trying not to think about the overwhelming relief, his Legends weren’t leaving him completely. “That is probably wise, and you can always come see me if you need advice.” Just advice, because nothing short of the world ending would make him leave Miranda and Jonas behind again.

“Thats good, because Mick is now our authority on time travel and I love him, but I get the sense he’s going to take advantage of you being gone to fuck with us. Are time wraiths a real thing?”

Rip laughed softly, and nodded. “Time wraiths are real, and terrifying. Good luck Sara, and take care of the team for me.” Even after a week to get slowly accustomed to routine physical contact again, Sara’s hug startled him and Rip went briefly rigid before he returned the hug.

“You will do wonderfully Miss Lance. Don’t forget to lean on the team. Galatea and Mick will be able to help you with most problems, and I will always be here for the rest. Gideon gave her a list of all the dangerous things I left in the parlour, oh and if you could please return Dr. Curie’s microscope? I kept forgetting. Oh, and take a radiation shower if you talk to her in person or in her labs. What else… If someone called Constantine shows up, tell him his ridiculous skull is useless, no longer extremely dangerous and also in the parlour.”

Rip took a breath, “oh, and if some showboating blond with terrible glasses calling himself ‘Booster Gold’ has the nerve to show his face, punch it for me. Help him , but see if you can chip a tooth first.”

“Okay… one day Rip, we’re going to have to sit down and talk about all the adventures you had before us. Same Constantine that restored my soul?” Sara asked, and Rip nodded.

“Most likely, I hope there aren’t two of him.” Finally, Rip sighed and turned to the rest of the team, smiling when Jax stepped up, pulling him straight into a hug. “I think I will miss you the most Jax,” Rip said quietly, and smiled when Jax chuckled smugly.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to deal with them, with no one else to yell at them when they damage the ship,” Jax complained as he released Rip, rocking back and sighing dramatically.

“Recruit Galatea into helping you, she provide back up with just a bit of encouragement.” Rip rocked back on his heels, mirroring Jax as he surveyed the young man he’d taken on as the _Waverider_ ’s engineer. “There is really nothing for me to teach you. You know the _Waverider_ from aft to stern, and all it’s quirks. Galatea’s quirks, you will have to learn yourself but at least Gideon has given you a head start. Hopefully you won’t have the initial problems that I had with Gideon.”

Jax laughed, “I think we’re getting along pretty well, I’m going to miss Gideon though. Good luck Rip, see you soon.” Jax waved and followed Sara back up the ramp, leaving Rip to turn to the rest of his former team. Martin was smiling softly, Ray weakly, and Mick had his arms crossed with a stubborn look. They had already said their goodbyes to Len and Rip could see a hint of resentment in Mick that he hoped would fade with time.

“Well, I suppose this is it. Don’t destroy my ship. And… stay safe. Please.”


	5. remodelling and baby rats!

The house was perfect. Strange, a little creepy, with dark wood trimming and vaulted ceilings. They stripped the layers of paint away to reveal the old artist’s work, redid the carpets and completely remodelled the kitchen

The entire house was wired for Gideon, giving her access to every appliance and cameras and screens in every room. They didn’t need to discuss it before they added a few extra cameras to both the kitchen and the master bedroom.

Jonas’s room was done with three walls in dark green and one wall in white for painting. Rip and Miranda had rehashed their old bickering about decor, while Len had wordlessly done his in dark and pale blue sponged paint. The master bedroom had eventually ended up mostly stained wood, dark green trimming and of course gold fixtures to satisfy Rip’s steampunk aesthetic. Gideon approved, she had always liked Rip’s more personalised rooms on the _Waverider._

It had taken time for Lisa to understand what Len meant to them and what they meant to Len. It had been Jonas who won her over, of course. He happily adopted her as his aunt and she caved instantly. Now the coffee table was covered in everything pertaining to her studies and college applications and they had remodelled an office for jewelry work.

The house was never quiet, the large space always filled with background chatter, laughter or music, and Rip hadn’t realised how much he’d grown to hate silence.

After the early renovations and moving in was done, he and Gideon began looking through locations for the bakery. They were limited by distance, so Rip fully expected it to take a lot of work, and he was right.

The place he fell in love with was an old, run down building. Grey stone walls, linoleum countertops, worn wooden floors and ancient, stuttering gas ovens. It was absolutely perfect, or at least it would be in a year or so. New ovens, new counters, new flooring, the walk-ins needed repair, some of the brickwork needed redone, even the ceiling needed work. He was looking forward to it.

~

“Are you sure this is it?” Lisa walked around in a slow circle, giving the ceiling a dubious look, then nearly tripping on a loose floorboard in consequence. Miranda held back her laugh with visible effort, effort that Len didn’t bother with.

“Seriously though,” Lisa said after recovering, stepping behind the counter and into the kitchen, “there is hardly anything here worth keeping. You're basically buying some walls and a foundation. Why this place?”

Rip smiled, looking fondly around his bakery. “French country grey stone, in Central City Lisa. The exterior of this building looks like it was transported straight from the 9th century West Francia countryside.”

Miranda was smiling knowingly at him, and Rip smiled back. The Old West had been Rip’s, but West Francia was hers.

“Okay, so...historical. And good bones? I think that is something home renovators say.” Lisa disappeared into the kitchen and Rip could hear cupboards opening and closing, the rusty creaking a reminder that he needed to replace all of them too, even the interior as they were severely mouse nibbled.

He was looking forward to the designing though. The lighting would be so important, and all he really wanted was to recreate the lighting he had in the _Waverider_ parlour. Warm and gold, just bright enough to comfortably read by.

“I’ll admit, I still think you are a little crazy, but I’m on board. When do we start?” Len asked, strolling around apparently nonchalant, but Rip could see him noting every flaw in the brickwork.

Rip grinned slowly. “Actually, we are expecting the team to arrive sometime tomorrow, I plan to extend an invitation to Mr. Rory. I think he’ll enjoy helping us with the destructive aspect. I believe he’s capable of exercising enough restraint to not damage the ‘bones’ of the place, as Lisa put it.”

Len snorted, startled from his feigned nonchalance. “You are going to sic Mick on old fixtures? Just give him an axe and tell him to start swinging?”

Rip nodded. “Essentially, though I intend to also supply him with a hammer. We can then follow along with the more delicate tools of the job once he has removed the bulk.”

Len gave him an indecipherable look that Rip chose to ignore. In the kitchen, Miranda had joined Lisa in inspecting every nook and cranny.

“I’ve got baby rodentia here, Rip!” Miranda called back, and Rip groaned, and followed to investigate. Of course there were rodent nests, of course.

Miranda and Lisa were kneeling by a bottom cupboard, peering inside with a penlight. “Itty bitty things too, got a tiny bit of fur but their eyes are still closed.” She was frowning, concerned even while her lips twitched into a smile. Rip knelt beside her, Len leaning over his shoulder.

Sure enough, in a corner, in a pile of newspaper and napkin scraps, was a squirming pile of tiny, barely furred rodents, rats if Rip’s guess was right.

“Well, that does complicate matters,” Rip muttered, unconsciously lowering and softening his voice in the presence of any kind of baby. “We can’t put off renovating and leave them here, we’d just have an infestation.”

Len squinted at them, gripping Rip’s shoulder for balance as he got a closer look. “I know a guy who’ll probably be thrilled to take them off our hands. Loves the little things. I’ll give him a call. Find something to move them into.”

Rip’s shoulders slumped in relief, and Miranda sighed. He’d already been imagining their future derailed by the care-taking and ownership of six tiny rats. Which honestly, they did want pets…

No. Not newborn rats, it was just a bad idea. They were simply too fragile and he didn’t want Jonas to go through that.

Len slipped back into the main room and Rip could shortly hear him talking to someone, while he looked around for a suitable container. “Find something for padding, a towel or something,” he asked Lisa, searching through each cupboard with the vague memory that one of them had old baking dishes.

He came up with a bread pan as Lisa left to search the car instead. Miranda was still kneeling by the cupboard, cooing softly as she transferred each rat into her lap, where they squirmed until they were back into a huddle under her hand.

“They’re so cute,” she whispered and Rip sat next to her, stroking one with a single finger. They were adorable, no doubt, and if Jonas hadn’t been at school Rip had no doubt that they would be making plans to hand nurse them already. As it was, he found he didn’t want to give them away.

Len walked back in, quickly followed by Lisa holding a towel from their first aid kit. “So, Hartley is happy to take them. Apparently they are around five days old, and are gonna be a nightmare to feed, but he’s done it before. He’s on his way now,” Len drawled, leaning against the doorway while Lisa knelt by the rats and started lining the bread pan with her towel, making a nest in the centre for them.

“Leave enough fabric to cover them.” Rip instructed distractedly, and Lisa adjusted. The rats squirmed in protest again as Miranda reluctantly moved them from her lap into the pan, giving each one an apologetic stroke with one finger as she did. They settled and Lisa covered them.

“I had no idea rats were so cute,” Miranda said softly, obviously reluctant to let them out of her sight, and Rip smiled.

“Oh Miranda, you have no idea. You should see the damn things at three weeks, Hartley could take over the world if he was willing to weaponise that,” Len said flatly and Rip gave him a curious look, to which Len shrugged.

“I worked with Hartley for a while, he has an army of rats, and sometimes there were babies around. They like to steal food, and once you see a three week old rat trying to make off with a french fry the same size as it, you’re never the same again,” he said flatly, and that was clearly all they were getting out of him.

They sat in relative silence after that, while Rip considered the remodelling. Everything was going to be dark wood, he wanted the countertops in marble, but he hadn’t decided what colours yet. Most likely a marbled cream or grey. Though if he could pull off gold…


End file.
